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Maple Leafs Thrown Into NHL Conspiracy Theory: 'Gary, Do Your Job!'

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Apr 8, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The Toronto Maple Leafs may be leading the Atlantic Division, but according to TNT analyst Paul Bissonnette, they could be walking into a trap.

During Sunday’s "NHL on TNT" broadcast, Bissonnette floated a tongue-in-cheek conspiracy theory suggesting the Florida Panthers are tanking down the stretch to engineer a first-round playoff matchup against the Leafs.

“I think Boston gave up Brad Marchand for nothing; he somehow ends up in Florida," Bissonnette said. "And now Florida, a great team, is going to keep losing down the stretch

"This is an inside job–Gary Bettman needs to look into it. He needs to look into what Paul Maurice and the Panthers are trying to do to my Toronto Maple Leafs.”

Biz has the tinfoil hat on...

The Panthers are tanking out of the 3rd spot in the division to draw Toronto in the first round of the playoffs pic.twitter.com/03R3mpKuBU
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) April 6, 2025

Florida has dropped five straight games and sat $49 million worth of talent during Sunday’s 2–1 loss to Detroit. As a result, the Panthers have fallen to third in the Atlantic, just two points ahead of the surging Senators and four behind Toronto.

“We want the Battle of Ontario (Leafs vs. Ottawa Senators) and the Battle of Florida (Panthers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning,” Bissonnette said. “Let's stick to the script.

"I don’t want Brad Marchand in the first round! Get Brad Marchand out of my face! (Commissioner) Gary (Bettman), do your job!”

On Monday’s "32 Thoughts" podcast , Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman kept the bit alive.

“It is the Sunshine State conspiracy… hated rivals (Panthers GM) Bill Zito and (Lightning GM) Julien BriseBois fixing the standings against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"There are a lot of tin foil hats going around. Because it wasn't just the Panthers lineup, it was also, 'The Lightning are in on it, that's why they lost to Buffalo' (as a Hockey Night in Canada producer told Friedman)."

In the actual standings, the Leafs (98 points) lead the Atlantic Division with a two-point gap over the Lightning (96) and lead the Panthers (92) by six points with a matchup against Florida scheduled for Tuesday.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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